In protective garments, such as firefighter's garments or rescue provider's garments, it is known to provide puncture-resistant patches where the garments cover a wearer's knees and where the garments cover the wearer's elbows. Heretofore, because puncture-resistant materials tend to be quite stiff, puncture-resistant materials have been regarded as unsuitable to cover larger regions of such protective garments.
As exemplified in U.S. Pat. Re. 32,506 and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,151, it is known for persons working at wildland sites to wear puncture-resistant chaps over their pants. As exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,503, it is known for persons working at wildland sites to wear puncture-resistant leggings over lower leg portions of their pants.
A need has been ascertained, to which this invention is directed, to provide a pair of protective pants, such as firefighter's pants, with enhanced, below-knee protection for a wearer, such as a firefighter, particularly but not exclusively for working at a wildland site, which may have snakes, thorny or spiny plants, or other puncture-threatening hazards, whereby to eliminate a need for the wearer to wear separate chaps or separate leggings.